The Need for Integrated Project Management

There’s a lot to think about when deploying critical systems, such as lighting, heating, control systems and de-icing solutions, in the oil & gas, marine and industrial sectors today. Too often, project management activities are broken up into discrete and separate processes characterized by a regular turnover of personnel and an inability to see the big picture.

Yet it doesn’t have to be like this with the potential benefits huge. According to management consultants McKinsey, reducing project management and development time alone has the potential to deliver 15 to 30 percent in cost savings when it comes to capital projects. Much of this can be down to improved integration between solutions and activities.

It’s against this backdrop that  R. STAHL TRANBERG is examining new ways of approaching project management and, in particular, how it applies to its’ heating, control systems, de-icing solutions and lighting solutions. This article will illustrate how this is being achieved through integration and an ability to see the big picture.

Central to everything R. STAHL TRANBERG does is to partner and support clients throughout the whole project lifecycle – from the design and concept phases through to commissioning, third party verification, installation and ongoing support, training and maintenance.

This requires well-coordinated, cross functional teams with a common goals and purpose as well as a close alignment with in-house production operations to ensure that projects are delivered on budget, on time and with the flexibility to continue meeting and adapting to customer challenges and specifications.

It also requires close collaboration with R&D. At present R. STAHL TRANBERG’s project management and project execution capabilities are supported by an R&D department that houses up to 15% of  employees. In December 2019, R. STAHL TRANBERG opened brand new R&D facilities in Stavanger.

It is this focus on goals, R&D and execution across the whole project lifecycle that is central to the roll-out of R. STAHL TRANBERG solutions.

Take heat tracing. Heat tracing is a vital process in the oil & gas industry, protecting tools or systems that require frost protection. Heat tracing technologies look to raise or just maintain temperatures in pipes, vessels or other equipment exposed to severe environments.

To this end, R. STAHL TRANBERG’s heat trace boxes are represented in most oil & gas installations in the North Sea, petrochemical industries and other industries subjected to rough environments. We have designed and manufactured heat tracing equipment and heating applications for rough environments for more than 40 years and our product range includes a number of different heat tracing junction boxes and thermostats.

As in many other applications, however, integrated project management is vital when it comes to heat tracing solutions. Such capabilities span the project lifecycle and include

reviewing 3D models and drawings, process lines and existing maintenance requirements through to commissioning, third party verification and utilizing engineering and design expertise for safety purposes. Only then can operators enjoy optimal operations, reduced CO2 emissions and significant cost savings.

The same integrated and extensive approach can also be seen in R. STAHL TRANBERG’s winterization solutions for extreme environments. Such solutions require the reviewing of all critical lifesaving equipment and existing heating solutions during the design stage, commissioning and – where necessary – modifications, installation of the latest software and power efficient systems for the immediate de-icing of critical components, and ongoing operational support.

When it comes to project management, there are few more challenging scenarios than the Yara Birkeland, the world's first autonomous and zero-emissions container vessel.

In this case, R. STAHL TRANBERG was responsible for some of the marine lighting solutions, working in tandem with international technology group KONGSBERG, who was responsible for the development and delivery of the key enabling technologies.

Again, an integration focus on project management activities is key with the TRANBERG® BlueLine Navigation lights controlled and monitored by a control system, enabling a two-way communication with onshore systems that also includes the raising of alarms and subsequent alarm handling.

Kjell Are Berg-Hagen, R. STAHL TRANBERG Technology Director, comments: “The Yara Birkeland is likely to be just the start of the growing development of unmanned and hybrid vessels where more operations are controlled and monitored by onshore teams. R. STAHL TRANBERG will remain at the forefront of these developments, setting the standards for the marine lighting of the future on autonomous vessels.”